Slashdot Mirror
Ask Slashdot: What Are You Reading This Month?
An anonymous reader writes: Hey folks! Could you share what are some books (or book) you're reading this month? Maybe it's the book you've already started, or you intend to begin or resume later this month? Thanks!
Right now, I'm reading Slashdot.
#DeleteChrome
...but I'm most enjoying Nicomachean Ethics by Aristotle.
I'm in my third year of my multi-year effort to read and work every problem in TAOCP. It's not easy, but I will say that it is rewarding. How practical it is is definitely up for debate, though - I've become an expert at MIX, an assembler language that's never been used anywhere except those books, and is more similar to the IBM instruction sets from the 60s than the x86 instruction set.
Proud neuron in the Slashdot hivemind since 2002.
I haven't been doing much reading because I've been hard at work writing a book. It's a sequel to my first novel (Ghost Thief if you don't mind a shameless plug). I'm currently over 72,000 words on the sequel and there's probably another 8,000 words (at least) until I hit the end.
My sci-fi novel, Ghost Thief, is now available from Amazon.com.
From 1962, the Pulitzer Prize winning account of how World War I started.
thus spoke zarathustra
Haven't installed that app yet. For Android or iOS?
The Brightest Fell (October Daye): Seanan McGuire
Obviously
Anatole France
You are being ripped off every second of every day, so that advertisers can help rip you off even more tomorrow.
My copy of Blood, Sweat and Pixels by Jason Schreier arrived yesterday from Amazon, haven't started it yet. Heard good things about it so I picked it up.
From the publisher's website:
"Taking some of the most popular, bestselling recent games, Schreier immerses readers in the hellfire of the development process, whether it's RPG studio Bioware's challenge to beat an impossible schedule and overcome countless technical nightmares to build Dragon Age: Inquisition; indie developer Eric Barone's single-handed efforts to grow country-life RPG Stardew Valley from one man's vision into a multi-million-dollar franchise; or Bungie spinning out from their corporate overlords at Microsoft to create Destiny, a brand new universe that they hoped would become as iconic as Star Wars and Lord of the Rings—even as it nearly ripped their studio apart."
You should give it a read.
Trying to get IT finished before I go watch the movie.
Re-reading "the Windup Girl" by Paolu Bacagalupi, or whatever his name is.
Ordered "Not the god-damned third book" by Patrick Rothfuss.
Tackling a heavily censored chapter a night of FO:E to put the kid to bed.
And way too much reddit and slashdot.
Not tech. "Stanton," by Walter Stahr. "This Side of Paradise," by F. Scott Fitzgerald. "Led Zeppelin, When Giants Walked the Earth," by Mick Wall. And I just received "What Happened," by Hillary Rodham Clinton. I've been interested in the American Civil War since I was about eight years old or so. I was briefly an English Major. Led Zepp was a favorite growing up. And I'm curious to see Hillary expose her psychology.
E Proelio Veritas.
After watching "Arrival" on an airplane, started reading the other short stories at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
Pretty neat stuff, kinda like reading Neal Stephenson with smaller words. He's very good with trimming unnecessary prose... actually finished reading the story "Arrival" was based on in less time than it took to watch the movie!
Business Adventures by John Brooks
Safehold series by David Weber
Post-apocalyptic science fiction novel series (9 books so far).
Wikipedia Link (with spoilers): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
It has Science-Fiction, technology discovery, war-tactics. Be sure to have the maps handy for each book: http://www.davidweber.net/down...
1% APY, No fees, Online Bank https://captl1.co/2uIErYq Don't let your $$$ sit in a no-interest acct.
I really liked Old Man's War series and heard this one was similar. I am almost finished with it after a two evenings reading. I have enjoyed it, but it seems more like a overview of things instead of being super detailed. I will see how the second book goes, but right now I prefer John Scalzi's and John Ringo's works more than this.
H.P. Lovecraft: The Ultimate Collection (160 Works Including Early Writings, Fiction, Collaborations, Poetry, Essays & Bonus Audiobook Links) Always a good (if somewhat pulpy) read.
One ring to bind them - should probably have more fiber and less rings in their diet.
GPS Declassified: From Smart Bombs to Smartphones. Not very technical, but more of an overview of the organizations and reasons behind the development of the US NAVSTAR (aka GPS) system.
The authors had an event on C-SPAN
Three-Body Problem Trilogy by Cixin Liu
Interesting to read about his roots and motivations.
Dragon's Teeth by Michael Crichton. Apparently a dusty-drawer novel of his discovered long after his passing. Unexpected bonus reading a 'new release' by Michael Crichton.
A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship by Robert C. Martin
I so wish I had started reading this book the day it came out.
Read Dennis E Taylor's Outland, liked We Are Legion, We Are Bob better.
Just finished Jim Butcher's Furies of Calderon, always like his writing in any book.
Now reading Revenger by Alastair Reynolds. Kind of slow starting but the ideas and descriptions of an existence in space without planets is pretty interesting.
On the most recent book of the Bobiverse series. Basically a modern day nerd engineer ends up as the consciousness controlling a space probe in the future. We've heard that before, but this one is witty, and as Bob replicates himself, the byplay between the various Bobs as they explore the galaxy is pretty hilarious. Not too many dead spots in the story 3 books in, and the chuckles come on a regular basis. I ran across this one by accident, and have been binge reading the series for a few days now. Along the same lines, if you'd like to play a game that feels related in theme and tone, try SOMA.
https://www.amazon.com/Are-Leg...
I came across a blog post that mentioned that most programmers who work with JavaScript frameworks don't have a solid understanding of JavaScript beyond what they need for the framework. Since frameworks are an abstraction of JavaScript, it's easy to get stuck if you don't understand how JavaScript works. This ebook was recommended: "You Don't Know JS: Up & Going". The first in a series of short ebooks that explain the JavaScript language.
Re reading the whole series,since I heard there maybe a new book out by the ghost writer that helped on his last book before Vince Flynn's death.
Revelation Space by Alastair Reynolds and am having some trouble getting into the swing of the story. It has taken me a few weeks just to make it 100 pages in... though now I am getting a little more used to the writing style and the story is picking up a bit..... I guess it doesn't help that archeology is not my cup of tea either...
Prior to this, I finished up Peter Hamilton's "Fallers" series with "A night without stars" (excellent!)
And prior to that I read James Corey's "Babylon's Ashes" which is another in the "Expanse" series.... wasn't really super impressed with the presentation and layout... seemed like he had a much larger book and his publisher (or maybe James himself...) literally cut it in half and said "no, we will make more money with two books" (which is true since the e-book is hardcover price... assholes)
And prior to that: Brent Weeks' "The Blood Mirror" which is the latest in the Lightbringer series.... excellent work! He really outdid himself... I feel like this is really a start of a new trilogy. It took the first 3 books to get to the real story... but that's fine! keep 'em coming Brent.
My eyes reflect the stars and a smile lights up my face.
by Tony Attwood.
Discovering I have asperger's (now known as high functioning autism) was one of the (if not THE) most life-changing events of my life (no joke). Not only has this book helped me understand myself, but I'm hoping it'll help me cope with all my still significant social and dating issues. I'm 1/3 of the way through, so we'll see. Any hints and tips from fellow aspies welcome.
I'm in the middle of John Le Carré's latest. It's his first George Smiley novel in something like 25 years, and supposedly it is the final farewell to the character. I'm quite enjoying it so far.
Breakfast served all day!
Fiction: I'm currently reading a set of short stories by Alex Shvartsman, titled "Explaining Cthulhu to Grandma and Other Stories." He's a fun writer. Some of the stories are ideas I've seen before but there's a broad breath of stories, including classic scifi, fantasy, and magical realism. I also am rereading the Alcatraz v. the Evil Librarians which is made for about 10 year olds but is absolutely hilarious and well done (which shouldn't be surprising since the author, Brandon Sanderson is in general an amazing writer).
Non-fiction: I'm reading "Seeing like a State" which is a fascinating read about the impact (often negative) of governments trying to order society around them, even when it is just doing so to try to gather better data. I'm also reading "An Illustrated Theory of Numbers" which is a highly accessible number theory book that just came out and appears to be very broadly accessible; I'm considering using it the next time I teach number theory.
Rise and fall of the Third Reich
https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Fall-Third-Reich-History/dp/1451651686
Humanity came so close to the abyss, had either side not made a mistake or 2, millions more could of been saved or killed.
I'm reading Suicide Of The West, by James Burnham. It's one of the most detailed accounts of American liberalism, and explains a lot of the liberal politics going on at the universities nowadays.
Burnham was well suited to objectively analyze American liberalism. He was a radical far-left activist in the 1930's, playing an important role in the Socialist Workers Party. But he later turned to conservatism, and worked with William F. Buckley, Jr. to create the conservative magazine, National Review. Although Suicide Of The West was written over 50 years ago, Burnham's analysis of liberalism is still accurate. For example, here is a passage from the last paragraph of Section 9.2:
The Hidden Reality
"Kingsman: The Secret Service" by Mark Millar and Dave Gibbons (differs quite a bit from the movie, but I guess Samuel L. Jackson as the baddie has more pull than some random 23 yo whiz kid...)
"After Death" volume 1-3 by Scott Snyder and Jeff Lemire (still haven't read volume 3)
Probably "Black Magic" volume 1 by Greg Rucka and Nicola Scott (after reading the next 2 issues a refresher after the long hiatus couldn't hurt)
"Lazarus: Cull" by Greg Rucka, Michael Lark and Santi Arcas (plus what's been released of "Lazarus: X+66" by now)
For the umpteenth time "Death Vigil" by Stjepan Sejic, because it's THAT good
"Monstress" volumes 1 & 2 (I think I haven't read the last issue of #2 yet, so why not re-read the whole shebang?)
"I'm not anti-anything, I'm anti-everything, it fits better." - Sole
I am half way through The Hercules Text by Jack McDevitt. After that I had planned to read a few more of his stand alone works, Eternity Road and Moonfall but I'm thinking of diverting to read some Jerry Pournelle's works. I'll probably start with Footfall since it has been on my "to be reread list" for almost a decade. From there who knows? I'm looking at a whole list of Pournelle that deserve to be re-read.
I read at +2. If your post doesn't reach that level I will not see or respond to it.
I just finished "Time Enough for Love" by Robert Heinlein three days ago, and have begun reading "Lucifer's Hammer" by Larry Niven. Both had sat on my shelf unread for years. I was feeling nostalgic and wanted to read some classic-ish sci-fi. Time Enough for Love was highly amusing.
PS, both novels start off rather boring, but improve in tone and pacing around the 50-page mark.
...when everything is a crime, everyone is a criminal.
Y is for Yesterday - Sue Grafton
Pale King and Princes - Robert Parker
Going Deep - John Holland
A history of the attack submarine
The Cake and the Rain - Jimmy Webb
Biography of the 60s/70s song writer
The Taking of the K-129 - Josh Dean
Another telling of the CIA's Glomar Explorer's attempt to raise a Russian nuke submarine from 15000-foot depth
A newly published biographical book about Stanisaw Lem by Wojciech Orliski, after having read almost all books _by_ Lem.
Very good biography; the author is trying to reach the bits of Lem's life which Lem himself was either shy to speak about, or simply never mentioned because he considered them boring. Also, Orliski is my age and often refers to _his_ life in communist Poland, which makes the reading even more enjoyable — I grew up in the same area and remember the same absurdities...
by Rana Mitter on audiobook
Also
The Obelisk Gate by N.K. Jemisin
Also,
How We Roll podcast
Wolf359 podcast
Edict Zero podcast
Though much of the book is timeless, it is interesting to recognize throughout the text the immediacy of WWII and the effects it had on Lewis's thinking and work.
By Benjamin Wallace. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01FVO09TQ/ref=series_rw_dp_sw
I picked up a copy of O'Reilly's "Ansible: Up & Running" this weekend. At a meetup last night, I got a very strong recommendation for "Ansible for DevOps," so that will be the next item on the list. Both seem to be well liked by others who've read them.
I am reading 'Ideas and Integrities' by Buckminster Fuller. He was clearly an intelligent man, but I feel he could have used an editor or co-writer for this book. The grammar and structure just seems to run on and on some places.
In the way of books, "The Economy" and "Mechanicum" and "The Death of Ivan Ilych"
finishing up Joe Abercrombie's excellent "First Law" trilogy.
If you ever look for sci-fi on amazon you'll see hyperion in like every list. It never looked that great to me but eventually I gave in and read it. It was... interesting. But I'd say thumbs down. The storytelling is top notch. But the book goes on and on and spins all these increasingly crazy stories together until your like "how could they possibly tie this all together" and then after a very loooong read, everything is coming to a head and it just ENDS without resolving or revealing anything.
1. That's super annoying, there should be some closure at the end of a long novel. And 2. It makes me supect that it *cant* actually be tied together, and im just going to get strung along for another 1000 pages. ..so I'm not going to read the next one.
I just finished 'One Second After' by William R. Forstchen, about an EMP attack. I just started 'One Year After' by him, and am also currently in the middle of 'The Autobiography of Mark Twain, Volume One'. I'm also going through the Windows Server 2016 Certification Guides. I alternate between fiction and non-fiction.
Nothing to see here but us trolls...move along...
I'm reading 'The Extra' by A. B. Yehoshua...
"The Stone Sky" is the 3rd book in Jemisin's "Broken Earth" trilogy and so far (I'm ~100 pages in) it is living up to the first two. When I say that, keep in mind that the first two books each won the Hugo for best novel (2015 & 2016) so I had high hopes.
- "Nobody came out that night, not one was ever seen. But Old Man Stauf is waiting there, crazy sick and mean!"
https://lmsnovel.wordpress.com/chapters/
Featuring: VRgame - MMORPG - AI
Came here to post the same series. The Bobiverse series is absolutely fantastic. The author does such a fantastic job of making each Bob unique and yet still Bob. I too read all 3 books in rapid fashion, once I got started I just couldn't stop. Not a lot of series can pull me right in like that.
I should also do a shout out for The Never Hero: https://www.amazon.com/Never-Hero-Chronicles-Jonathan-Tibbs-ebook/dp/B00NK1GLM2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1505326621&sr=1-1&keywords=the+never+hero
Both books in the series are enchanting, with some of the best character development I've read.
"The Information" by James Gleick
"Light Years" by Brian Clegg
Just finished "13.8" by John Gribbin
Wealth, Virtual Wealth and Debt.
The role of money.
I'm reading _The Count of Monte Cristo_ for the first time at age 50. I'm sure glad I started reading it; I think it's great. You can get it legally for free online since it's in public domain. I downloaded it to a kindle.
“And now,' said the unknown, 'farewell kindness, humanity, and gratitude! Farewell to all the feelings that expand the heart! I have been heaven's substitute to recompense the good - now the god of vengeance yields to me his power to punish the wicked!”
Earlier this month, I read Thomas Berry's book The Sacred Universe.
It encompasses about 30 years of thought from Berry, who is a priest interested in trying to find a new moral and ethical framework based upon our understanding of the universe through science. He outlines what he sees as several of the key stories provided by the world's historical religions and shows how we can recast many of these stories in light of our modern understanding of the physical world.
The book also discusses some of the contexts for the enormous mass-extinction event we are living through and offers a framework for using science to understand the connectedness humanity shares with the rest of the planet to promote a more global well-being.
It is not a light book, but it has radically changed how I view the relationship between science and religion.
The Leader's Bookshelf by Adm. James Stavridis. Summation of top 50 books referenced by two hundred active and retired four-star military officers. Excellent read, and points you to 50 more great books.
"The Windup Girl"
How Linux Works, The Linux Bible, Crown of Vengeance by Mercedes Lackey et al, The Brightest Fell by Seanan MacGuire, Ruin of Angels by Max Gladstone, Rituals by Kelley Armstrong, Raven Strategy by Yoon Ha Lee. I will likely add more before the month is over.
Finished "The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O.", started re-reading Cryptonomicon,
Playboy, 180 and oh yeah 1884
Have you fscked your local propeller head today?
Full title is The Revenge of Analog: Real Things and Why They Matter by David Sax. I've found that I am re-enchanted with vinyl, books, and other physical things. This book explained why. A good, entertaining read that sheds light on why analog is making a comeback. Worth checking out from your local library.
There is audio of a talk he gave at the Kansas City Public library found here - http://www.kclibrary.org/signature-events/revenge-analog
Because.... Steinbeck.
First book in an epic medieval fantasy.
It's good. Full of fun adventures.
http://a.co/7HUB5Hf
Nouvelles de jeux et technologies en français. TC
I'm reading Gelman and Hill: Data analysis using regression and multilevel / hierarchical models... actually for several months now, mostly a few pages before I go to bed. It's well written, fascinating material with nice examples. At first I was just interested in the general topic, lately I've started building my own regression models in R (very easy once you get used to it) with publicly available data. So yes, you have to be some kind of data nerd to appreciate the book... but that's what you get for asking on Slashdot.
For pleasure, I'm reading Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe novels. Every once in a while I get an itch for old noir novels that I need to scratch.
The world's burning. Moped Jesus spotted on I50. Details at 11.
Ask Slashdot: What are you having for lunch today?
Southern Reach trilogy, psychologically thrilling...
to absorb creimer's "unemployed". I think you need at least a week to absorb all the ideas and images in there. creimer is the new Umberto Eco.
Because season 3 on AMC may take a while, if at all.
I'm starting with my 1963 issues of Fantasy and Science Fiction and working my way forward (Ill Met in Lankhmar, yum). Wow, the weltanschauung you find in these magazines feels so foreign to the jaded today. I think it'd be nice to actually have the possible scientific future that seemed so possible in the 60s.
Enjoyed this--a quick, engaging two-day read hearkening to the Foundation series. I especially enjoyed the machine-human conversations.
by Hank Harrison.
No, I'm not a Dead Head, but I am a "student" of Rock Music History.
This book is chock full of interesting anecdotes and stories from the earlier(60s-70s) period of the Grateful Dead.
A very interesting read.
I'm currently really enjoying Stephen Fry's most recent memoir "More Fool Me". He has a very engaging writing style of which I'm rather fond.
Barnaby Rudge
"De chaos van het slagveld" an in-depth analysis about the evolution of the Belgian army in the trenches in WWI
Sandman, "The Kindly Ones"
"American Gods"
Forgot the link: https://www.amazon.com/Vision-Story-Deep-Jesse-Laeuchli-ebook/dp/B075G28P1X/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies by Bostrom. It makes some pretty good arguments, and examines them from multiple angles.
The Witcher Series, by Sapkowski. Haven't watched Game of Thrones but I think it's the same genre. Interesting world building.
by Gary William Flake.
I read it a long long long while back, but picked it up again off the shelf the other day, and been enjoying it during train rides. Awesome book.
Other books I'd recommend:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antifragile
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapiens:_A_Brief_History_of_Humankind
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_in_the_Twenty-First_Century
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summa_Technologiae
etc.
I'm slogging through Capital in the 21st century.
I don't understand how this got to the top of the bestseller lists. It's shelf fodder.
reading Ready Player One in anticipation of the movie
It's really quite interesting, and if you're a food nerd (or really anyone) it's hard to read it and not feel like we've been lied to our whole lives.
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
The Essentials of Interaction Design by Alan Cooper
Coder's Stone: The programming language quick ref for iPad
Just finished Little Dorrit (Dickens)
Just started Master and Margarita (Bulgakov)
The Once and Future King (T.H. White) is next
Have been at it for a couple of months, but it's definitely worth it.
I've got a longstanding interest in the pulp and popular fiction of the 20s and 30s, and right now I'm working my way Earl Derr Bigger's Charlie Chan novels. These are very controversial today because of the issue of cultural appropriation, and probably also because of their association with the movies in which European actors in yellowface played the detective.
Because of the movies, many younger Asian Americans reject the Chan stories out of hand as racist without even looking at them. And indeed Biggers gets a lot of details wrong, particularly in his inaccurate attempt to render the dialect of Chinese characters other than Chan (who himself is represented as speaking with awkward syntax but normal pronunciation). But the real test of any writer isn't whether he gets every detail right -- nobody ever does. It's whether he creates characters that on the whole have depth and believably, regardless of the inevitable mistakes.
As a detective, Chan falls in the middle of the spectrum between Sherlock Holmes and Sam Spade; he doesn't have superhuman intelligence, but he doesn't solve problems with his fists either, although he's not shy about using a gun when it makes sense. What sets him apart is maturity. Things are frustrating for Chan; but despite his somewhat overblown humility he always carried through by his well-founded confidence in his ability. That makes his success that much more satisfying.
This is all very different from the movies. Chan in the movies is a big wheel; government officials, captains of industry, and policemen are always fawning over him. In one movie he calls up the Coast Guard and orders them to close the port of Los Angeles. This is a fantasy -- not that I have anything against that as long as you know what it is. In books, the white people are depicted as diverse in their attitudes to Chan. Some see him for what he is and treat him as an equal; others are condescending, and a few even expect him to wait on them -- and they aren't necessarily the villains.
The writing style of the books is somewhat crude by modern standards, and by post-Christie standards they're not particularly finely crafted as mysteries. But Biggers delivers something you really want from a writer: characters that seem real and individual, not stamped out some second-hand mold.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
Death of rhythm and blues plus debt the first 5000 years
Currently reading Without Their Permission by Alexis Ohanian. I'm only a chapter in at the moment, but so far it's entertaining.
By Clevernickname / Wil Weaton
-Dave
Not a new book but still valid. Good read for parents, coaches, teachers, managers,...
I read alot.
Hard Luck Hank 1, 2, & 3.
'The Warmth of Other Suns' by Isabelle Wilkerson
'Half Way Home' by Hugh Howey
'Empire of the Summer Moon' by S. C. Gwynne
The Passage series by Justin Cronin
The MadAddam series by Margaret Atwood
'1491: New Revelations of Americas before Columbus' by Charles C. Mann
'Underground Airlines' by Ben Winters
'White Trash: The 400 year untold story of class in America' by Nancy Isenberg
'Lovecraft Country' by Matt Ruff
-email me for ebooks
Cheap storage VM.
With Oathbringer releasing next month, I'm rereading the first two books of the Stormlight Archive. On Words of Radiance now.
Hoping to hear Patrick Rothfuss will be done with book 3 of Kingkiller Chonicle soon
Re-reading the original Jack Ryan novels. Just finished The Sum of All Fears.
Edgar Rice Burroughs, A Princess of Mars.
Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to go through life, son.
by Harry Harrison
Cheddite...
I like to think of myself as a Rennaissance Man so my tastes vary month to month. I do try to tackle one heavy book and one light book at a time. Here is my list so far:
Currrently reading
I Thought It Was Just Me (but it isn't): Making the Journey from "What Will People Think?" to "I Am Enough" by Brené Brown - Heavy Read on Shame/Shame resilience. Its geared towards women but its a topic I know nothing about and the researcher shares lots of letters / examples of things women do that they and the people around them don't even understand why they even do it. I think she is working on a book that will come out about Shame/Shame resilience for men as well. Its Fascinating but equally intense at the same time.
Previously I have read in 2017
The Secret Lives of Hyapatia Lee by Hyapatia Lee - Light read on an actress from the Adult Entertainment Industry
The Philosophy Book (Big Ideas Simply Explained) by Will Buckingham - Heavier read on General Philosophy
How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character by Paul Tough - Lighter read on Education System in Ameria
Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Travis Bradberry - Heavier read on EQ and how to better yourself in recognizing emotional interactions with other people
Overdressed: The Shockingly High Cost of Cheap Fashion by Elizabeth L. Cline - Light read on how our clothing industry changed and why low cost gives low quality
Tiger Woman on Wall Street: Winning Business Strategies from Shanghai to New York and Back by Junheng Li - Light read on Wall Street with differences between how things are done in business in China vs US
iOS Programming: The Big Nerd Ranch Guide (Big Nerd Ranch Guides) by Christian Keur - Heavier read on iOS programming
You Just Don't Understand: Women and Men in Conversation by Deborah Tannen - Heavy read on how to better communicate with your partner in a relationship. Very good research on social psychology and linguistics.
If you want more, send me a response or DM. I read a lot on kindle and because I have my phone or tablet everywhere I never have an excuse not to read something. Hope this helps.
There's an "implementation gap" between reality and our algorithmic models or reality. We can deal with that gap in a lot of ways. This book analyses "algorithms" from the perspective the humanities. Specifically it looks at how they are part of narratives and 'magical thinking', and appeal to our ideals of rationality and universal knowledge. The tension between our ideals and reality. This is how it starts: "The myth is probably as old as language itself. There are spell in the world: incantations that can transform reality through the power of procedural utterances. The marriage vow, the courtroom sentence, the shaman curse: these words are codes that change reality. It's an old and attractive idea." It talks about Gibson's sci-fi books, draws lines between Google's mission and the ideas behind the first encyclopedia. It analyses for Netflix' algorithms work. It talks about quantum theory and the rise of probability math. Siri and star trek. "Computation becomes a universal solvent". Parts are brilliant, parts are opaque. You have to be a little into the humanities a bit to get the most out of the book.
Just finished Mary Stewart's 'The Wicked Day', part of a series that is a pretty unique telling of the Arthurian tales as told by Merlin. Great historo-fantasy (or whatever it's called)
love is just extroverted narcissism
A lot of furry literature. From Bryce O'Connor, M.C.A Hogarth, Tempe O'Kun, H. Leighton Dickson, Abigail Hilton, Watts Martin, Danial Porter, Ted R. Blasingame, Stefan Mazzara, Rachel Aaron, Michael Scott Earle, Phil Geusz, and that doesn't include the two anthologies I've read.
In order of how much I liked them:
"News of the World" by Paulette Jiles.
excellent
"All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr
excellent
"The Fifth Season" by N. K. Jemisin
good
Also, I recently re-read the "The Death Gate cycle" by Weis and Hickman
fun read. dumb fun, but fun
I'm reading Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly and rereading My Family and Other Animals by Gerald Durrell.
I'm reading how to create a book reading list, by asking one question and getting thousands of responses. It mentions to, "ask slashdot", whatever that is.
Re-started the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. Last time I tried reading it, I made it through 9 books before something or other distracted me long enough not to pick it back up again. It's been too long to pick up where I left off, so I am re-reading from the beginning. I am enjoying it thoroughly. Just started book 3.
All systems red (the murderbot diaries) by Martha Wells.
His Robot Girlfriend: A Great Deal of Patience by Wesley Allison
2312 by Kim Stanley Robinson. Interesting bit of world (or solar system) building, but not gripping me the same way as Aurora did.
Where can I find that?
Yes, I know it's by that Scientologist guy L. Ron Hubbard (and I think Scientology is bunk), but I actually like the movie and the book is better. Bit of fun to pass the time, and some proper sci-fi.
Give a hand, not a hand-out.
I Loooved the Foundation series as a teen. Great stuff. Many a night up late reading. I'd like to go back. :)
E Proelio Veritas.
Caesar's Last Breath: Decoding the Secrets of the Air Around Us by Sam Kean.
He has some other good science/history books:
The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements
The Violinist's Thumb: And Other Lost Tales of Love, War, and Genius, as Written by Our Genetic Code
The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: The History of the Human Brain as Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery
Beware of the Redittor who loans you a Sharpie.
Fairly easy and enlightening read on why analog technologies that we thought would die are still around and some are making a comeback. Definitely helped me understand my long standing love of vinyl, books and other things physical.
by John Le Carre. It's like a sequel to his book from 1963 - The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
i'm a fan of the J.K. books, but this book is MUCH BETTER THAN THE ORIGINALS. Deeper, richer, and RATIONAL (ie: you never have to suspend your disbelief because characters simply don't do dumb things). Also, you learn rationality, science & cognitive psychology techniques as you read, it really does make you smarter as you read it (or at least, you FEEL smarter!). Best book i've ever read. free at hpmor.com
Figure it might come in handy soon...sigh...
I've just (a few minutes ago) finished the second of Stephen Clarke's books about an Englishman living in France: A Year in the Merde, and Merde Actually.
They are a somewhat-less-than-usually-starry-eyed view of life in France for the expat. He turns some phrases wonderfully, and there are a few laugh-out-loud moments.
About 400 pages each, but large type so they are quick reads.
book: Quantum Mechanics and Path Integrals; Feynman and Hibbs
category: stuff I should know
...and I wonder if it will be possible with my Kindle too. I've picked books off my bookshelf after decades to read or reread or look up something.
E Proelio Veritas.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? ... what with a new Blade Runner movie coming out in a few weeks.
It's not a long book. Next up: Ready Player One
"Slow down, Cowboy! It has been 3 years, 7 months and 26 days since you last successfully posted a comment."
1. Mathematical foundations of infinite-dimensional statistical models
2. Asymptotics in statistics: Some basic concepts
3. Real Analysis
4. Real Analysis and probability
5. Asymptotic methods in statistical decision theory
The Spanish Inquisition of Psychometrics; Burning all the heretics.
I am reading "Grow Younger - Live Longer" from Deepak Chopra. And everyone should read it.
We are getting old too fast with junk food, bad habits, lack of sport and good mood.
We should rethink our daily life. We can feel younger, more energetic and motivated.
Think about it !
Right now, I'm reading a comment about some guy reading Slashdot.
#DeleteFacebook
Westerns, written by Louis L'Amour. The dialogue is excellent.
"First they came for the slanderers and i said nothing."
Democracy is a textbook in drag, but has some worthwhile chapters near the end.
Taste of Persia is interesting, but this isn't the easiest cuisine to crack into. Managed a reasonable tahdig on my first attempt. I will probably try a flatbread, then call it a day for this pass. But the weird thing is, I'll probably use Reinhart's recipe, because his book has a good one, too.
Bread Baker's Apprentice is awesome. He adapted his Pain a l'Ancienne in a later book (the recipe is online), and I'm already getting amazing results (but I had been making high-hydration pizza dough for several years, so it wasn't the biggest stretch, har har).
Lustig has some interviews on YouTube. I like the guy, but he can lay it on a bit thick at times. He recently took time off from his medical research to pick up a law degree. Honestly not sure what to expect from his newest book.
I've long had a love/hate relationship with Pinker, but eventually I read everything he writes.
Algorithms to Live By would be a great book if they weren't so busy shooting down their own strawmen.
What's the real value of an "optimal" solution, as N races upward in a combinatorial space? First, it ends argument. Second, well, there is no second. So many good solutions are almost identical in many of these problem spaces at scale. Pssst—that's why there's no fucking gradient inside the good solution disk for your clever algorithm to exploit. Man that was getting on my nerves at various points. Then they get half of another chapter explaining that many optimum isn't necessary at the end of the day after all. Oh, sheesh. Why didn't you say this long before I threw the book at the wall for the third time?
A fairly typical random cross section, though a bit heavy on cooking lately.
I've been digging through the bookshelf for good old books I haven't read in a long time. Just finished Dune and I'm about half way through Neuromancer. Hard to think of two more different books that still fall under the category of sci-fi. I remember Dune being great, but I'd forgotten just how great. Shame about the movie though. Maybe a decent film in its own right, but really lets the book down. Watching that after rereading the book was a bit of a mistake.
A Record of a Mortal’s Journey to Immortality, you can find at wuxiaworld dot com
What can I say, I am prepping for the end of our current civilization.
Some days I get the sinking feeling Orwell was an optimist.
Tripoint, C. J. Cherryh, 1636: Mission to the Mughals, Eric Flint and Griffin Barber, The Fiery Cross, Diana Gabaldon.
Kevin Oberman, Network Engineer, Retired
I've slowly been making my way through NPR's 100 Science fiction books, I say slowly because even though I read a lot, I also belong to a book club, and the list is not just a list of books, but a list of book series, and if I like an author a lot I may read a lot by that author before I come back to pick up another in the list. I'm mostly NOT reading those that are fantasy, at least not for now, even though I've read some. I'm currently about 55 in.
Just finished Underground Airlines by Ben Winters.
It's been a while since I read something that wasn't a tech manual, user guide, or related to hardware or software.
The Russians have won. They have made the world a cesspool of distrust, greed, fear and hate.
Lies and the Lying liars that tell them by Senator Al Franken.
This third book in The Body Problem trilogy by Chinese science fiction writer Cixin Liu came out in paperback this month. The first two books, The Three Body Problem and The Dark Forest, are possibly the best SF I have ever read.
It's called Arab States. It is very boring. It is related to my PhD, as I wouldn't read it otherwise.
Excellent, excellent book. By Peter Fritzsche
"How One of You Can Bring the Two of You Together: Breakthrough Strategies to Resolve Your Conflicts." By Susan Page.
Recommended by a friend of mine. Seeing how I can adapt it to the workplace.
as part of the 'make me smart' book club.
I'm slowly working my way through "Foundations of Mechanical Accuracy" written by Wayne Moore of the Moore tool company, who make machines that measure in millionths of an inch.
"On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century" by Timothy Snyder
It's not very long but worth thinking about.
Intanetto Koukoku no Himitsu (In proper Unicode: (No!)) is a children's comic book explaining the yummy goodness and secrets of Internet advertising. Actually it's volume 129 of an excellent series, where each volume is sponsored by a major company in some industry. I still fondly remember the first volume, secrets of hamburgers, sponsored by McDonald's. No drama (yet) in volume 129, but #1 had some great drama about the first local McDonald's. Another mysterious classic involved the suppressed secrets of home-delivery pizza (#13) and the secrets of toilet design manufacture (#22). The superpowers of pickled plums (#114) may have been the best of last year's.
Should be a point of embarrassment, but I've read every volume. They publish about 10 new volumes each year, and I'm still keeping up. They seem to be slowing down, with only 8 volumes so far this year, compared to 17 in 2016.
NOT available via Amazon. I count that as a plus, but that's another long, sad story of corporate cancerism and EVIL.
Freedom = (Meaningful - Coerced) Choice != (Speech | Beer^2), and sad sock puppets' bad mods avail them naught.
Fun read. Couldn't get into O'Brien quite as much. Belay stowing thrones.
A History of Canada from the Vikings to the Present, by Conrad Black.
Very well written, in depth history of Canada. Presents a few too many of the author's beliefs as fact.
Much easier to read than his biography of FDR.
Excellent subject matter too.
Â\_(ãf)_/Â
Amazing book!
Move Fast and Break Things by Jonathan Taplin. It's about the tech industry (Facebook, Google, and Amazon) and how they've "cornered culture and undermined democracy". It's some scary shit.
Boring posts, I think I'll go read the man page for 'cat'.
Hmm, didn't realize there was a 'number the lines' option, nor a 'squeeze blank lines' option; both could be useful. Maybe reading that wasn't such a bad idea after all.
The Origin of Satan by Elaine Pagels
The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis
Also finished up Children of Dune and started on God Emporer of Dune.
I'm reading Gardens of the Moon by Steven Erikson, which is a fantasy novel. While slow at the start, it's becoming a rewarding undertaking.
Still unsure whether I'd pick up the rest of the series though; I find the book very hard to get into. Only 100 pages left or so, so I can't wait to see how it unfolds...
As inequality of income increase around the world, I thought let's read some initial concept of economics. Hence reading these books 1. https://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/14... (Principle of Economics) 2. https://www.deeplearningbook.o... (Deep learning)
Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared Diamond.
Truly recommended.
Anyway... at the moment: Rise of the federation: live by the code (@ kindle)
Warspite: Warships of the Royal Navy (@ Night stand)
Volokolamsk Highway (@ sitting room)
I just started on "Gaunt's Ghosts", at the very beginning "First and Only". My neophyte adventure into Warhammer 40k.
Finished the last book of the second age in the Mistborn epic last week; "Mistborn: The Bands of Mourning"
- Don't do what I do, it's probably not healthy nor safe. -
Right now I'm re-reading Echopraxia by Peter Watts, the sequel to Blindsight ( <-- link to the full book online under a CC license!), which I just re-read. Blindsight is fantastic (I've read it twice now, both times I did it in one sitting), I didn't enjoy Echopraxia quite as much, but it's still pretty damn good.
I had never read it before.
Self-Driving Cars: "The Mother of All AI Projects": Practical Advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) by Dr. Lance B. Eliot
Just finished 1Q84 by Murakami Aruki but now I started a very old scientific book :
"Wave and corpuscle - Ondulatory mechanic" by Louis de Broglie, 1945.
Juliette Benzoni - Le Collier de Montezuma
aside from the handful of books I'm reading on and off. And the news.
Just a couple of classics.
Neal Stephenson, "Cryptonomicon"
I finally got it in English, to read the text as the author wrote it.
So far it is great.
William Gibson, The Sprawl Trilogy
What is this smell...? Oh, right - it's the smell of hard cyberpunk, corporate intrigues, and fast action.
The most obviously brilliant author I've ever read.
One would think that a person who reads a lot would know that "a lot" is two words.
"Our Mathematical Universe: My Quest for the Ultimate Nature of Reality" I've just finished N.K.Jemisin's "The Fifth Season" and I highly recommend whole trilogy.
This is a great piece about the history of (D)ARPA.
After finishing "Goldilocks and the Water Bears", a book on current developments in astrobioligy, I read a couple of pages of the "Feynman lectures on Physics" (vol 2) because my daughter was due for a physics exam at school this week (electromagnetism & induction), and I (re-)discovered what a fascinating read those lectures (50 years old by now) really still are. A genius being able to explain stuff as simple as possible (but not simpler)... how much better can it get?
My current book is "We have no idea" on the big blank areas in today's science. I've only read the first couple of chapters so far, but it's already good fun.
Ever wondered whats wrong with the world? http://www.ishmael.org/
I said read, not write. We could also discuss this for hours, it's colloquially accepted by most people.
Cheap storage VM.
At the moment, Dickey's Deliverance.
A Pope and A President by Dr. Paul Kengor - Fantastic read on how these two men were targets of Communist assinations and they hastened an end to the Cold War. These kindred spirits were united in the pursuit of a supreme objective and changed history.
Tools for Titans - Tim Ferris Reckless - Chrissie Hynde Sacred Geometry - Stephen Skinner The Atlantis Gene series - A.G. Riddle All Awesome! And I have 400 printed tech articles in a pile I need to spend time with.
The Apple Pie Hubbub
Renegade Nuns on Wheels
Trouble in Doggyland
Howdy Doody, Man or Myth?
How I Turned a Million in Real Estate into $25 in Cash
Ethel the Aardvark Goes Quantity Surveying
My Incredible Career by A.J. Rimmer
Gay Boys in Bondage by William Shakespeare
Oolon Coluphid's Where God Went Wrong, More of God's Greatest Mistakes, and Who Is This God Person Anyway?
Women Who Love Men and the Men Who Hate the Men the Women Are Loving (If It's Not Them)
Flakfizer: A Man's Man (But I Like Women a Lot More)
_God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything_
Sad, but true.
I just finished "Ready Player One" By Cline and "Shade's Children" By Nix. Read Ready Player one in a day (could not put it down, loved the 80's references). I'm now on "The Adventures of the Stainless Steel Rat" by Harry Harrison. I started Dune, but its a hard read. I will probably go back to it cause I feel its like the Kubrick 2001 movie. you need to see it if your a true sci-fi fan, but not yet. The Stainless Steel is a much more light hearted read.
Saturated fat was NEVER linked to heart disease. Again, that was the theory they were pursuing, and through selection bias decided a (weak) correlation implied causation. Here's another fun fact: high cholesterol levels are not an indicator of heart disease either. 1/2 of all people who have heart attacks have what are considered "normal" cholesterol levels.
My beliefs do not require that you agree with them.
So interesting. I'm reading "7 Swedish girls from a gas station" by Videorama. Such wonderful and extremely arousing novel!
"It is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society." - Jiddu Krishnamurti
The Big Lie - Dinesh D'souza
The Art of the Argument - Stefan Molyneux
the code book by simon singh
Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland by Christopher Browning.
A study/review about how ordinary people were given choice and ended up committing horrible things. For what I gather so far, we all have a monster inside.